Hong Kong is celebrating 25 years of its return from England to China. Hong Kong was leased by China to Great Britain in 1898 for 99 years. The lease ended on July 1, 1997.
Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, who is on his first trip outside of the mainland in two years, is being hosted under tight security cover. He is to swear in the city’s new leader – John Lee, and attend celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the former British colony’s handover to Beijing.
The Indian Express wrote that, red lanterns and posters declaring a “new era” of stability decorated main roads and walkways close to the convention centre where the last colonial governor, Chris Patten, tearfully handed Hong Kong back to China at a rain-drenched ceremony in 1997.
On Thursday after arriving in Hong Kong, Xi proclaimed that the city had overcome its challenges and “risen from the ashes”. According to the BBC, Xi insisted that China’s “one country two systems” model of ruling Hong Kong has worked in protecting the city and must continue long term.
Under “one country two systems”, Hong Kong is supposed to be governed in a way that gives it a high degree of autonomy and protects freedom of speech and assembly, and other rights not found in mainland China.
But in recent years China has been criticised for increasing its control of Hong Kong and enacting laws and reforms that stifle free speech and dissent.
Xi’s last trip to Hong Kong was in 2017. At that time, Xi he swore in the city’s first female leader, Carrie Lam, who was in charge when the territory saw its most difficult times as anti-government protests engulfed the tiny island and the Covid pandemic ravaged it.
